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The city's very first composting pilot program is almost here! Three pilot locations - Kashmere Multi-Service Center, Heights Historic Fire Station, and the Houston Botanic Garden - will offer once-weekly drive-through composting collection from October 20th to November 27th. A huge thanks to our composting partners,  Zero Waste Houston and Moonshot Compost.  This program wouldn't be possible without them. I'm also grateful for the enthusiastic work of all our partners: Mayor Sylvester Turner,  Council Member Tarsha Jackson,  Council Member Abbie Kamin, Council Member Robert Gallegos, the Solid Waste Management Department, Houston Health Department, Houston Botanic Garden, Houston Heights Association, Urban Harvest, the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, and Houston Complete Communities. 

How to participate?
  • Grab a bucket, bin, or tupperware and start collecting your food scraps!
    • We're accepting almost all types of food, including meat, fish, fried/moldy/freezer- burned food, fruits, and vegetables. Just remove produce stickers & other non-biodegradable packaging. 
    • We'll also take biodegradable household items like like newspaper, pizza boxes, compostable utensils/bags/cups, old flowers, wood ash, & fur!
    • We have the full list at houstontx.gov/compost!
    • Worried about the smell? Composting pro-tip: keep items that can spoil in your freezer until drop-off day.
  • Make sure to separate out contaminants like produce stickers, metal, and plastic.
  • Pick a location and mark your calendar for drop-off day! 
  • On your composting day, drop by your location with your compostable materials! Volunteers will empty out your bin and return it to you.
If you're interested in volunteering, please click here.


Locations:
  • Kashmere Gardens Multi-Service Center - 4802 Lockwood Dr, Houston, TX 77026
    • October 23rd to November 27th
    • Saturdays, 9:00AM-11:00AM
  • The Historic Heights Fire Station - 107 W 12th St, Houston, TX 77008
    • October 20th to November 24th
    • Wednesdays, 5:00PM-7:00PM
  • Houston Botanic Garden - 1 Botanic Lane, Houston, TX 77017
    • October 23rd to November 27th
    • Saturdays, 9:00AM-11:00AM

Trade your trash for trees!
To kickoff our first week of  composting, we've partnered with Trees for Houston on a tree giveaway! Our first forty composters at each location will receive a free tree. This only applies for our first week, so mark your calendars now. 
  • Kashmere Gardens Multi-Service Center - 4802 Lockwood Dr, Houston, TX 77026
    • October 23rd at 9:00 AM
  • The Historic Heights Fire Station - 107 W 12th St, Houston, TX 77008
    • October 20th at 5:00 PM
  • Houston Botanic Garden - 1 Botanic Lane, Houston, TX 77017
    • October 23rd at 9:00 AM

Why compost?
  • The Climate Action Plan’s waste management goals include “strengthening and supporting efforts to collect and compost food organics.”
  • According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, in the United States, food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills, where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for approximately 14.1 percent of these emissions in 2017.
  • The methane emissions from municipal landfills in 2019 were approximately equivalent to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from more than 21.6 million passenger vehicles driven for one year or the CO2 emissions from nearly 12 million homes’ energy use for one year.
  • Houston residents, businesses and institutions generate approximately 6.2 million tons of municipal solid waste per year.
  • Beyond reducing waste, using compost enhances rainfall penetration, which reduces water runoff and soil erosion. This in turn reduces sediment, nutrients, and pesticide losses to streams by 75-95 percent. Compost also improves the soil and enhances beneficial microbes that help reduce plant diseases and pests, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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